An Architects Perspective.

The Old Beijing #2 | Hutong

There has been a great deal recorded and lamented regarding the traditional hutong laneways of the ‘Old Beijing’ inside the Second Ring Road in Dongcheng District, but they never cease to amaze me. Not only a perfectly scaled urban connection device and setting for the daily life of Beijing, they also perform a remarkable task of attenuating the noise from the relentless Beijing traffic on the numerous main arterial roads that that cross the centre of the city.